Major national banks close 41 locations in just two weeks (2024)

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Major banks have closed 41 branches in just two weeks as the shift toward online banking continues.

Major banks such as Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo were among those shuttering locations.

Customers of U.S Bank were worst hit, with the bank closing 13 local brick-and-mortar branches between August 4 and August 18.

Wells Fargo closed seven, with Chase, Citizens Bank and Bank of America each closing four.Scroll down for the full list with addresses.

The rest were closed by the likes of First National Bank, PNC, SouthState Bank and Huntingdon.

The closures, which spanned from Florida to Missouri, were confirmed to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) whichmonitors branch closures and openings and publishes them in a weekly bulletin.

Major banks are increasingly moving away from expensive brick-and-mortar branches in favor of online services.

'The majority of Americans, from Gen Z to boomers, are in less need of a traditional bank, which may explain the rising number of physical branches that have been closing over the past year'Andrew Murray, lead data researcher at GOBankingRates told DailyMail.com.

A recent survey by GOBankingRates found that even seniors prefer online banking to in-branch services.

Overall 78 percent of Americans prefer using mobile and online banking and almost one in four did not visit their bank in the past year.

'It's likely that overhead costs (rent, maintenance, supplies and staff salaries) are a large factor especially given that our survey shows how infrequently people visit brick and mortar banks,' Murray said.

Indeed closures can lead to significant savings since the average freestanding bank branch costs around $2.6 million a year to run.

US banks shut 539 branches in just the first half of the year, research by DailyMail.com shows.

The worst hit state was California,which saw 72 closures.New York was second with 51 closures, followed byPennsylvaniaat 40.

'Over the last several years, we have rightsized our branch network, and we may continue to combine two older existing branches into one better situated location,' Wells Fargo told DailyMail.com.

'Doing so does not take away the importance of our customers and the communities we serve.'

US bank also highlighted clients' migration towards online banking and 'desire for greater simplicity' as reasons for their mass closures.

'As we evolve along with our clients, we are reevaluating our physical footprint, and in some instances, consolidating branch locations in select markets,' the bank said in a statement earlier this year.

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